It was all he told himself to do that night. It wasn't any more than he expected out of a fresh Captain, and the reach of his draining ability at General promised that he could scrape together as much in five blocks or less. It was all he needed — something to suggest that he was handling himself, that he was meeting the minimum without so much help from his subordinates. Without starseeds wearing human skin taunting him while fawning over him.
He knew the team meant well, but they were nearly all senshi. Only the cats, Jadarite, and Celadonite had a measure of decency about their souls.
Under the cover of late, cloudy night, Faustite traveled from rooftop to uneven rooftop in search of an appropriately populated area. From the vantage point of the concrete trees, he could scan for a small, close-knit group or two that would be felled by a quick and brutal drain before they could turn on him and chase him away (for he never again wanted to feel pepper spray in his grate, or take a knife in the hand).
He was four blocks in when he found exactly what he wanted — a group of five in a tight circle, gathered under a dilapidated awning with an underside made entirely of aluminum beer cans. He could only pick out snippets of their conversation: one stated that it was going to rain, another was encouraging more drinking at their house. The rest were unintelligible murmurs, hidden behind half-empty beer bottles and slurred smiles.
They looked like Waru's type, if Waru was a dead-ended deadbeat with debts to pay. Faustite crept to the end of the bar from whence they'd come, then dropped onto the condemned building attached to it. Though it was only a single story, the group was too engrossed in each other to notice the footfalls or the approaching fire. Once he'd gotten to the awning, his hands shook with anticipation. It took twice as long as necessary for him to gather his focus and begin the drain. Once he did, he was wondering what their starseeds would taste like.
kolina
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:55 pm
It was one of those nights. A night where the nightmares and depression were too much so freedom was sought with a tiny pill and the bottom of a glass of wine. Or....five. Whatever, She was sure Melody wouldn't mind a bottle of wine going missing. Had it even been Melody's? Hy couldn't remember, hell for all she knew she'd acquired it some other hazy night. She often preferred company after all when it all became too much. Company was always the best remedy.
Second best was enjoying the high while slipping over the rooftops. Maybe she'd get lucky and find someone to help ease the pains. That would turn the night around.
Keeping herself focused and aware in such a state wasn't easy. In fact, she was lucky she hadn't turned an ankle on the uneven rooftops she scaled and traveled across. So in reality, it wasn't at all unexpected when she practically stumbled upon the General. His aura only smacking into her senses moments before she caught sight of him.
A good time indeed! Maybe not the company she had in mind, but it would do.
Fire lighting in her, not a care in the world or expectations that any of this could possibly go south, Hy left the rooftops to break up the energy draining party. "Excuse me for ruining your fun." She said with a purr as she launched herself at the General swinging the incense side of her staff towards his head.
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 10:16 pm
He felt the Knight, but he ignored it. Waited a count of seconds, knowing the breadth of both their auras and guessed how long it would take to find the center of his chaotic, black mass. All the while, Faustite kept spinning tight wires of energy off the group beneath the awning, until he heard one, then two collapse, then the other three wake into their own adrenaline.
He bit into the first orb, breathed the rush of energy under its brittle shell. Wasn't the crunch he was after, but it would do. The second orb was pocketed. The rest he released, and it spooled out into the ether as he stood upright.
She hardly noticed him before she launched into an attack herself —
Faustite caught sight of her face in his own firelight and snarled bitterly for what he saw. He leapt backward, energy and people forgotten as they both scattered in the wake of a near-accident.
"Oh, you." The words tasted acerbic enough that they burned, griddle-spit and sizzle as he spat them out. Any breath he drew showed the hellmouth at the back of his throat, glow brilliant for all the unexpected fury that stirred at the sight of her. Like he needed her name to know her crimes.
Rankling at the smell of the incense burner as it wafted over their destroyed little arena, Faustite spread his arms wide and gave his mental call for the Rift's darker denizens. One, a purportedly normal-looking black cat; another, an armadillo; a third, an amalgamation of an archaeopteryx and a scorpion; and a fourth, a snake the color of pure shadow. With a wave of his hand, he made his orders known, and they cast themselves toward her in a broadening fan.
"I remember you," he said, baring a mirthless smile.
kolina
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:19 am
Her swung missed, as she had expected. The one she trifled with was a General after all. He wouldn't be worth his rank if she'd been able to land a blow that easily. She missed his acerbic reaction to realizing who she was. Focusing in on one target was a difficult task, even in the heated moment. Eyes flicked to the downed people. Drained by the looks of it. Hopefully nothing more than that but it was hard to tell this far away.
Four creatures were summoned. The youma obeying the needs of their half-bretherin. Hy sneered. The fact that a half-youma even existed was enough to send chillds down her spine. Such a mess of a creature to exist. The damn boy was on "fire" after all.
Idly she wondered if he could feel those flames in his abdomen. Were they as intensely hot as they looked to be? Did he utilize himself for a camp stove, or perhaps, like youma he didn't even need food?
Her thoughts stopped there at his words. "I am flattered that I've left such an impression on you." The words were practically cooed as she tossed her hair over a shoulder side-eyeing him and his little band of misfits. "Can't say the same about you." She remarked. "Likely not worth my time to remember." She grinned as she prepped herself to take on the youma, eyes flicking from one to the other.
Focus. Focus...
Five was a lot to keep track of right now.
"Hey!" The sound of another voice behind her caught Hy's attention. Make it six But the sixth turned out to be a Squire brandishing a wooden mace. The boy, for he couldn't be more than 17 with his messy brown hair and face full of freckles, hurried to Hy's side. "Need some help?" He offered with his own cocky grin.
Hy shrugged. "Why not?" And she charged at the ugly bird creature, moving to skewer it with the end of her staff.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:34 am
Great, cool, rad. A Knight and a Squire, up against a General and a few wimpy youma? Piece of cake. No, not just a piece of cake — something to brag about once he got back!
Sure, Lady Knight looked a little loopy, but she was cute, and he didn't know, maybe she got hit with a youma attack earlier. She kinda smelled the way his mom did when she dragged herself indoors at 3 in the morning, so he was gonna guess she'd been drinking. Good of her to put the wine glass down and help out when she saw some trouble! She deserved a good helping hand. Even better if he could do most of the work for her!
So while she got busy with the youma (and, boy did those youma just dogpile her), the Squire took a look at the General headed her way. The dude looked pretty young, on the small side, and kinda on fire? Like he wasn't doing too good, either, apart from the whole being on fire thing. Not that he'd let that bother him — the Squire had been around tons of senshi before, and he had his own magic to boot! He knew better than to think it was real fire. It was probably just decoration, or maybe it gave the sensation of a burn, but if he could just tough it out? He'd be fine!
"Watch this," he said more to himself than anyone else. The Squire hunkered down and waited for the General to cross to her roof, waited for the youma to start making way to give him an opening, annnnnd… Then he kicked off against the roof, feet scrabbling for purchase as he ran, and then launched himself at the big bad General to take him right to the ground!
And holy s**t was it like grabbing a campfire! The youthful Squire yelped his deep underestimation of that level of pain on the way down, especially as he landed on top of the burning General.
Who very helpfully informed him, "I'm on fire, you stupid b***h!" And squared a kick at the kid's side.
Despite his pain, the Squire gathered himself and spun around to aim his wooden mace straight at the boy's face, hitting… A pool of fire. He was growing more perplexed by the minute, too, when he saw that pool of fire gain sentience and form some kind of weird fire-braid right back up toward the redheaded Lady Knight.
s**t! The Squire went running back up toward the rooftops, with his weapon arm guarding the length of fresh burns across his free arm. "Hey, Lady Knight! Watch out for the fire!"
As he spoke, the armadillo youma rolled into a ball and dove straight for her ankles, then bumped up against the newly formed General's boot. He was still quite obviously livid, perhaps more so after being taken off the roof.
kolina
don't mind me
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2022 12:37 pm
"Damn!" Though Hy had focused on just one youma the other 3 decided they wanted in on the game too. It was a lot to keep track of. Swing there, stab over here, kick that one, it was on and on she went trying to beat down the creatures. She didn't get away without several hits to herself though. It was hard enough facing off against 4 opponents by yourself when you were sober. Four while under the influence was not easy. Each hit she took though she felt with a hyper awareness. Not fun. Not at all.
She knew she needed to get to the General controlling all of the bastards, but the moment the fight started she'd lost sight of him and the squire who had gone rushing off on his own. Whatever, the kid could take care of himself. Probably. Maybe...
Then she heard a voice. Eyes flitted from the cat youma which she had just beat way with her burner to the kid rushing towards her. "Fire?" She questioned quietly just as she felt something leathery and hard ram into her ankles. She fumbled to try and catch herself but ended up on the ground with the youma around her.
Good damn that kid distracting her!
Then she noticed the fire right and rolled as quickly as she could out of it's way, be damned whatever youma she ran into cause she was pretty sure that fire would hurt more. But the heat of the attack never came. Instead she caught sight of General again.
"Fun trick." She said as she batted at the snake that tried to wrap itself around her staff. Using the weapon as leverage she got to her feet. "Maybe you should sign yourself up as a magician at a kids party. I am sure they'd love it."
Ignoring the youma, Hy charged to the General. Unlike the Squire, she wasn't going to take chances with that burning cage of a fire. She kept her distance as much as she could utilizing the length of her staff to attack. Much like they were with the youma, her movements were obviously sluggish and not well aimed.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2022 10:49 pm
Faustite was silent to her comment as he devoted the bulk of his attention to her swings. Her unsteadiness rendered her less predictable — he was able to block or catch some of her strikes and work his way closer to her, then a wobbly swing or stumbling strike would connect with his shoulder, hip, or thigh and buy her more distance again. He would seethe for each gained hit, even if it bought time for the youma behind her to neutralize her.
Faustite wanted a starseed. If he had a starseed, he was sure she would no longer stand in his way. If he had a starseed, then he would have two more. He just needed a starseed —
While Hy-Brasil tangled with the General, the Squire took it as his cue to pick up with the youma. One of them — the flying, feathery thing with the stinger — had burst into dust earlier, but it left three more nuisances for him to clean up.
"Over here, you Halloween rejects!" He yelled as he raised his mace into the air. As he channeled his magic, he knew it would draw them to him. He would look like the bigger threat, taking some of the heat off of Lady Knight. Not all the heat, though; the bonfire that called itself a boy seemed more distracted and agitated, but he wasn't coming over.
Tangling with three youma proved tougher than he thought. As soon as the Squire focused on the cat, the snake would wrap around his ankle and throw him off balance. When he was wrangling the snake, the armadillo would bound and hit him square in the back. When he was kicking the rolling armadillo away, the cat chomped at his calves with like a million teeth. Even if they weren't being particularly lethal, they were wearing him down.
He gained a lucky break when their coordinated attacks reached a small lull, and the Squire took it. He reeled his weapon back and brought the mace down hard, striking the snake's head and crushing its skull. The force of impact was enough to cause its body to leap, then it was still, then it was dust. The Squire let out a small hoot of victory, even if it was cut short by the cat chomping his sandaled toes.
Meanwhile, Faustite had grown increasingly incensed — and increasingly hot. He recalled how she played with him as a Lieutenant, and broke his clavicle as a Captain, and now she insisted on stumbling around like a ******** drunk while he was a General. <******** tired of smelling ******** sandalwood!" he growled, and a firestorm burst out from his core.
kolina
Meltdown ;; Range: 10' radius around user Duration: Up to 30 seconds Use Count: Up to 2x Miss Chance: Escaping range at or before the buildup stage Effect: By expending some of his core, Faustite can whip up a firestorm on a local area, prefaced by dancing cinders seconds before the burst. Inferno gusts orbit clockwise, burning anyone caught in their whorl. Friendly fire possible.
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:47 pm
Hy was enjoying herself despite struggling to keep up with the fight. Distractions were easy. Distractions could also be fatal, but still at the whoop of excitement, Hy glanced over to the squire, catching sight of dust scattering away. Ha! The kid was turning out to be useful anyway. "Good job!" She hollard over.
The General pulled her attention back just before he let off a burst of fire. Hy Gasped and attempted to outrun the attack but not quite making it out of range. The heat of the fire exploaded over her and she hissed, ducking and rolling in a less than graceful maneuver as flames licked at exposed skin and caught on clothing.
"Lady Knight!" The squire couldn't help not noticing the explosion of fire. The cat youma didn't stop it's assault despite the area quite literally feeling like a large oven. He swung the mace towards the feline, but it's smaller frame meant it was able to dodge easily before darting back in for another attack.
"Stupid cat!" He huffed out as he kicked at the feline, this time making contact. Ignoring the other youma, the Squire turned on heel and hurried over to the green-clad Knight.
Promptly he tried to douse the flames that had sparked on her cape and edges of her skirt. "Are you alright?" He asked her as he patted down her back, making sure no embers remained.
Hy hissed behind clenched teeth. "Yea." She remarked. That damn fire was hot. b*****d.
Grabbing her staff that she had dropped when she'd fallen, Hy stood. Glancing at the Squire she noted his own array of burns and scratches. It wasn't going to be much since the youma were already organizing themselves for an attack, but she took even a few seconds time to channel her magic. The incense swirled towards and around the squire.
Confused at first the Squire's brow wrinkled as the smoke acted oddly. Suddenly though his wounds hurt less, some of the smaller scratches quickly sealed over and healed themselves. "Wow." He murmured. "You're a healer! Aren't healers supposed to stay back and not attack?"
Hy snorted, cutting off her channeling. "I am not your typically healer, kid."
The armadillo youma rolled towards them as the cat youma darted in from the side. Hy was also very much aware how close they were still to the General. "Keep up with the good dusting." She said with a grin.
The squire's eyes lit up as he smiled. "Sure! I got this! No need to worry about me."
Hy turned back to the General. "That was a nice trick." She remarked, as she walked back towards him. The effects of his attack evident on her exposed skin which was now red and swollen in patchy areas. Her clothing was well charred and singed. Holes scattered along her cape and skirt. Thankfully her leather bodice took the heat decently well to keep her torso safe.
"I think you should embrace the sandalwood smell and just relax][/]." She swung out at him again as she half stumbled/half rushed towards the half-youma.
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:11 pm
The Knight scuttled off and Faustite heard their bullshit-nonsense exchange as he walked afterward. His breaths came heavy, ragged for the energy he burnt off only to singe her. Her Squire pet was there, too, trying to be helpful. Trying to tamp down the number of youma while she ******** around like a drunk.
His youma kept dogging them. There were two, now — the cat he'd rescued from the blight, and the armadillo youma he hadn't met previously — and they'd found their own harmony. The cat, being the better dodger, would distract the Squire while the armadillo rolled up and took potshots. Neither would get far, however, with the Knight able to burn away all their damage with her magic.
For as long as he had been with the Negaverse, Faustite had only seen knight magic a handful of times. There was no callsign, no stupid hand gestures or forewarnings. He couldn't get a bead on how long it lasted. As he caught his breath, he watched a few seconds of smoke wash away the Squire's ******** maddening.
Faustite's attention was on the Squire as he evaluated if he had the energy to burn on teleporting to him. Then came a flash of green, red, and pale — his attention shifted to the Knight that slalomed toward him. Her swing, beautifully telegraphed, came at his face. With teeth grit, he caught it, and his palms sung with numb followed by an influx of impact pain. Taloned fingers dug into the wood of the staff as he held fast.
"Relax when I've eaten your ******** starseed," he hissed, his words sizzling on his tongue. As he held fast, he counted the seconds until the wood caught and burned.
As they grappled on the roof, the Squire went back to dutifully batting around the youma. While he took a handful of hits from the armadillo, which felt more and more like strong punches, he realized he was better off paying attention to that thing than the cat that proved too quick for him. Turning around, he bonked the armadillo and sent the thing flying. He almost cheered for it, too! But the damned thing didn't dust on impact — it hardly looked hurt at all! The Squire's brow furrowed in consternation.
And the feline, feeling ignored, had snuck up behind the youth. While he was largely covered, his exposed calves proved perfect for biting. The creature sank its teeth in as far as they would reach before it leapt back and evaded a swing.
"Heck," the Squire muttered as he backed away from the pair. "I gotta get smart at this…"
kolina
On fire ;; Range: Self Duration: Constant Use Count: N/A Miss Chance: Effect: There's a fire in the center of this boy. It's caged, but it gives off light and heat and generally confers attributes that one would expect from fire. He does not like being used as a stove. In combat, Faustite is easy to spot via his internal light source. His temperature risks burns to the degree of player's choice. If the player has no preference, assume third degree with prolonged physical contact or second degree with normal combat contact. He can intentionally light flammable things and be used for the same properties of normal fire (eg this property can be used against him). If the fire is completely extinguished, he dies. He needs to eat and do other tasks to fuel the flame. The general rule is: the more he heats, the more he eats.
Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2022 9:19 pm
”I guarantee it would give you the worst indigestion.” She growled out.
Magical in property or not, the staff was still wood, and wood burned. It might have taken a few extra seconds, but the weapon smoldered and flared up around the General’s han while Hy grappled with him to gain control. And failed miserably. A smarter her, one not stumbling from the after-effects of indulgence might have known what ot do. Might have twisted just right, or kicked in just the perfect spot to free her weapon from the hot grasp. But not now. She was nothing more than rage and instinct that was bare-minimum working. And she was getting tired. So she did what she would have never done before. Hy relinquished her weapon and stumbled back, dismayed to see the wooden staff continue to burn in his grip.
“b*****d.” She grumbled through clenched teeth. Now she knew she was in a predicament. With no weapon to keep her body from actually making contact with that walking furnace, attacking was going to be tricky.
The squire could feel the blood seeping from the bite wound. The youma were merciless in their attacks. He wasn’t used to this. This fight was more than he’d ever encountered before! Two youma and a General? Sure, the Lady Knight was dealing with the flaming man right now, bnut it still counted. He’d scrapped with him.
Scrapped with him and still alive to tell the tale. That thought alone helped bolster his confidence.
As the armadillo youma ccame at him again, the young squire took aim and swung with his mace like it were nothing more than a gold club right at the creature. He felt the impact as he followed through with the stroke and the youma went bouncing off unable to control it’s rolling. “Woot!” He hollered.
Then he noticed the Knight no longer had her weapon. Oh no.
The cat youma was once again quick in it’s attack, raking claws towards his unshielded legs, but this time he got the better of the black creature and hopped out of the way as he hurried over to the knight. “I am here! I can help!” He said as he got to her side.
Hy glanced over at the squire. “I really wish that mace of yours was made of metal. I am not sure how long it’s gonna last.”
The squire puffed himself up. “It’s alright. We’ve got this!”
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2022 7:54 am
”Don’t need your ******** kindling,” Faustite spat, the words burning off his tongue. Her relinquished weapon smoldered and erupted into flame, which spread slowly as it ate through the bark. He hurled it to the side and it clattered off the roof.
The armadillo youma, realizing that there was no correcting course after the Squire’s quick smack, kept up its bouncing roll until it clangorously thunked onto the roof. It tried to stop near the General that commanded it, but it couldn’t yet break its speed. Then it felt jerked back suddenly, as the burning boy caught hold of its tail and lifted it off the ground. Then it unfurled, soft underbelly facing away from the knights and its hard carapace exposed to them. When he approached, the creature curled and uncurled itself, as if evaluating its new position.
Burning wood, sandalwood, blood — the air was thick with the three, pungent and cloying. The pair were still standing, even if the Squire was bloodied. Better that he finish this without help, without one of their own judging him for his choices afterward.
As he stalked toward them, he opened his free hand to the air, and a swarm of fireflies appeared from the ether. They darted for the Knight, flashing brightly in a brilliant, stark distraction.
“I’m on it!” The Squire volunteered as he readied his mace like a baseball bat. He stepped toward the score of flashing lights, bat held back, ready to swing, and — was struck in the side, knocking the wind out of him and sending him stumbling off the low roof. It wasn’t a far fall, but it was a surprising one, and the Squire stumbled hard upon landing. “I’m okay,” he shouted back up at her once he’d caught his breath.
He didn’t have a moment to check himself when a blaze of light leveled with him in his periphery. The Squire turned, feeling the heat on his face crank up by several degrees, and spotted the General again. Great, so he was facing a General and two youma. Now he had every reason to show the lady Knight his stuff!
“Can’t touch this!” He yelled at the flaming creature as he channeled the power from his weapon. His body glowed faintly, and he grew more confident with each second that he was under its spell. Smirking, he approached the General in kind.
“Don’t need to,” Faustite rasped, and swung the armadillo youma up at his stomach. The hit crackled, as if discharging lightning, and the creature yelped in pain. The squire stumbled with the strike, then swung one of his own, and while the flaming thing caught the mace with a resounding smack, he couldn’t hold it through the growing pain. He wrenched the Squire toward him as he released his grip and sidestepped to send the boy stumbling again.
While the Squire recovered his footing, he felt a twinge at his back. The youma General hissed in pain again, so he must’ve reached for — “Not today, you b*****d!”
kolina
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2022 5:27 pm
Hy seethed as the General tossed her weapon away as if it was nothing more than kindling. Metal and wood scraped on the roof before slipping over the edge out of sight. <******** Fantastic. Not only was she facing a literal burning man, but she had no real way of attacking without getting burned in the process. Her weapon was gone and summoning it back wasn’t an option at the moment.
The squire next to her was practically bouncing with energy ready to take on their opponent, and Hy determined to join him when another surprise was thrown her way. Bugs. Not just any bugs but fireflies? How curious of a distraction, but they worked. Hy’d vision was obscured as she attempted to bat away at the creatures that flitted around her. She never saw the Squire go down.
She did hear his cry that he was alright. Thank goodness. The last damn thing she needed was that kid getting hurt anymore.
It was only a minute of two that Hy battled her little swarm of insects that she opted to give up. It was too eerily quiet around her and that wasn’t sitting well. With her last ditched effort she swung her capelet off and used it as a net to catch a portion of the insects in it, dropping it to the ground. It was enough breathing room.
Rushing to the edge of the building where she had heard the squire hollar from, she glanced down to see the battle. Kids has some balls, that’s for sure. Taking on a General and two youma was no small feat as a squire!
Then she saw the grab for the Squire’s back and immediately tensed. The damn b*****d!
The jump down nor landing were graceful. Hy stumbled a bit as the shock of the landing felt more pronounced as a pins and needles sensation shot through her legs, buit she stayed up.
She was still weaponless.
The cat youma spared her no time. Well placed scratches now riddled her exposed legs. The next time it came at her, Hy kicked out, taking pleasure at the impact as boots collided with youma.
The squire meanwhile was busy with the General that clearly had intentions to end this fight in a most unfortunate way. Unfortunate for the Squire that was. Now it felt like a battle to the death. How exciting!
“Why don’t you just get out of here!?” He yelled, as he charged, Mace at the ready in both hands. He was intending to put his full force into this swing as he lept up, trying to get the advantage and swinging downward on his descent. “Take this!”
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 11:51 pm
The cat youma hissed, then loosed a loathsome yowl as its body began to disintegrate. A spray of dust followed Hy-Brasil's boot. It turned on her, knowing this was its last stance, and launched itself at her leg.
Upon seeing this, the cloud of fireflies followed her. Their brilliant bodies coalesced as they studied her, learning her appearance. They produced a copy of her after a time — a still image, as it hadn't yet learned how she carried herself when she walked. It would prove helpful for the Knight's database entry later. For now, the copy reached out to touch her on the shoulder.
The Squire had his stumblings with his faster opponent, but he was hopeful. He spun around and translated his inertia into a vicious backswing that the General had to dodge, which won the Squire some distance. He could feel the heat rolling off this General; as long as they kept him from touching them, they could win the fight through attrition. And that's just if they kept up with what they were doing!
Bolstered by this, the Squire took a step forward and swung hard, the heavy whoosh of air a balm to his ears. The Squire's glow was still going strong, and their enemy didn't know what to do with it!
But their enemy was quickly fed up with being on the back foot. Teeth grit, he caught the next swing with his hand and brought the armadillo up in the Squire's narrow window of vulnerability. It struck him squarely in the chest, winding him, and robbing him of some of his misbegotten gusto. Then he swung again, and again, and again, each crippling strike of the armadillo resounding like a war drum. Finally Faustite couldn't tolerate the mounting pain in his hand and released the mace.
The Squire stumbled to the ground with it, gasping. He coughed, and up came a twinge of red into his hand. "Damn," he rasped around a cough.
"Think your ******** starseed's safe?" Faustite questioned, anger roiling as emphatically as the armadillo in his right hand. "Think I can't take it with your magic up?" He rolled his wrist, working out a few pops and cracks.
Faustite stalked up to the boy as he tried to pull himself to his feet, and each time the Squire rose, Faustite struck him in the torso with the armadillo youma. He crawled to his feet again, and Faustite brought his living bludgeon down on the Squire's back, squarely between the shoulder blades. Then the hits came quicker, harder, each strike underlining the General's words. "Don't need my ******** magic to get to your starseed, Squire! It can't hide in your broken ******** husk forever!"
kolina
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:56 pm
"Damn, youma!" She hissed through clenched teeth as the feline creature put in its last assault as it's body slowly disintegrated. She had to give it to the damn thing, it certainly was persistent even in dusting. She kicked out with the attacked ankle, boot saving her from most of the youma's damage as laws and teeth ripped away at leather. The distraction was enough though.
She swung around as a hand landed on her shoulder. Fist flying outward in a pinwheel to hit the shoulder of...herself? "the ********?!" She exclaimed in shock. Reflexes failed her as she stumbled a step backwards. If she didn't know better, she could be looking at her own reflection in a mirror except her reflection looked...off. The resemblene was perfect but the way it carried itself and moved wasn't quite right.
"Fun little trick." She huffed out as she recovered from the surprise, her eyes flitting around for another possible foe. Instead what she saw was the General towering over the poor squire, beating him relentlessly with the body of another youma like it was nothing more than a club. The damn mimic of herself blocked the most direct path to the poor squire.
"Hold on kid!" She yelled to him as she squared off with herself before moving in to attack. Andrea line was helping to clear her mind, but her body was still not responding as quickly or smoothly. Still, her punches held weight if sloppy as she began her assault to push the youma copy of herself back to try and get to the squire.
The squire felt each blow like it was a sledgehammer. Magic or not, it still hurt with he strength of the General being put into it. He tried to pull himself away but the General was relentless with his blows and he knew as well as the flaming half-youma that his magic could only last so long.
A split decision was made between one blow and another and the Squire spun half onto his back in an attempt to grab the armadillo that was nothing more than a club at that point. If he could just stop the attack for long enough maybe the Knight could help? But a quick glance in the direction her voice had come from confused him as he saw green fighting green. "Have nothing better to do than pick on someone weaker than you?" He huffed out in an attempt to hit at the General's pride.
strickenized
I am so sorry this took so long! crying
Kolina
Inquisitive Agent
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Strickenized
Garbage Cat
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2022 5:39 pm
There was but one youma remaining to keep the Knight occupied, and it had no means of fighting off its attacker. The replica of the young Knight had distracted her, but only temporarily; now the creature was forced to try to dodge while maintaining an image that it barely understood. It dodged what it could in a flail of disjointed limbs and impossible balancing acts, but the host of fireflies struggled to master the art of moving in an illusion — a few of those attacks broke through, casting aside dozens of fireflies that hit the ground in a spatter of dust.
Then the illusion shimmered, grew bright, and broke. Before her was a storm of fireflies, reduced by a quarter, that abandoned all pretense of their activities. The cloud rushed toward the General and Squire, the latter whose outlook grew grimmer by the second.
"Yes!" The General hissed back, words crackling wildly. Finally the armadillo youma's shell began to give way, disintegrating into trace puffs of dust, and Faustite heaved the creature to the side. The Squire's magic fizzled out, exposing him to the touch of chaos, and Faustite caught the crawling Squire by the ankle. He heaved the boy backward, then planted a boot on the small of his back.
"Honor is for humans," he seethed, as he reached into the boy's back and wrenched his starseed free.
